The Irish standard., 1887-04-02
CROATIAN PEASANTS.

CROATlAN PEASANTS.
The Dress and Customs Of an Interesting
Ohshoot Of the Siav Race
The Croatian peasant costume pre-
sents some peculiarities. The men
wear often the gray jacket and broad
trousers that are especially Hungarian.
They are notinter~sting. The dress of
the women is more picturesque, and to
see this to the best advantage one must
visit the market-place. This is not
especially true of Agram. You follow
the same rule everywhere in Europe
in London, Paris, Brittany, the Loire
valley, Spain, Italy, Germany. It is
the last place invaded by fashion. Here
you witness the survival of the obso-
lete. Here you hear spoken the dialect
of past ages and see styles of dress that
date back to the Renaissance or indi-
vidual characteristics. No place is so
unconventional. Nowhere is there so
little restraint on national peculiarities
or individual characteristics. So I
went to the market as the only locality
where 1 was likely to see that in the
Croatian dress and character that dis
tinguished the people from other ma
tionalities about them. The market
place is a broad, open, unadorned
space. On one side of it the most fash
ionable cafes, with journals, though
not many, from Berlin, Paris, Vienna,
Buda-Pesth and Trieste; on the oppo-
site side few shops, none of which
would be called fashionable in large
city, and around great portion of
the space the women, most of them
on the ground, selling their
wares from trays or baskets. A mar
ket-house would be an unparalleled
luxury at Agram. Here and there I
saw few booths, where men sold fruit
and meat, or women, who seemed lit
tie better off than the rest, exposed
small articles for domestic use. The
of the vendors were women,
whose whole stock in trade was only
worth few forms. Most Of them were
barefooted, though some of them wore
a sort of buckskin laced up the ankle.
The costume is made, as in Hungary,
of coarse homemade linen, with band
of red about the bottom of the skirt, a
red belt about the waist, perhaps a
bright-hued apron and a string or strings
of coral about the neck. Isay ''strings,"
for the ornament is composed of so
many parts in some cases that they
can not readily be counted. Not even
in Naples, the center of the coral in-
dustry, have seen this form of per-
sonal decoration SO freely used. 1t is
evident that the profits of the market
ing go largely to this vain luxury.
Sometimes the sleeves form great
puff like ball ending at the elbow,
their extremitles, as also the apron,
being occasionally adorned with coarse
lace. A handkerchief of brilliant dyes
covers the head. The man who in
vented the handkerchief is entitled to
even more consideration than he who
invented sleep. 1t is the head cover
ing of most of the women of Europe.
It therefore saves millions in millinery
bills. If a poor woman is the happy
possessor of two, she transports her
effects from place to place in
the second. Trunks and valises are
thereby dispensed with. Nearly all the
millions of handkerchiefs, specimens of
which are seen all over South America,
in the heart of Asia and Africa, and
serving as head-gear for great part
Of the present women Of Europe ema
nate from British looms.
There is among the Agram women
that increasing tendency to strong
liquor remarked everywhere in Europe.
Near the market place remarked nu-
merous drinking-pa~ces where were
sold gin. rum, brandy, curacao, char
treuse, vermouth and all the other
liquors initiated from those of France,
Holland and England. Here they can
be bought at from three kreutzers the
small flask to any quantity desired.
They are Of local manufacture and not
of bad quality, but that is no reason
why so many hard-faced women should
be seen at the counter inverting the
glass TASKS from which they are i'm.
bibing, or carrying off a larger quantity
Ia bottles, pitchers and tin pals to get
tipsy over at their leisure. This is q
small city for so coarse vice. A row
Of dissipated women drinking brandy,
gin or schnapps at a public bar does
not so much surprise one in London OF
nor even in Paris or Mad
rid. Here il Is different. No one
would suppose that 50 unfeminine .
vice was SO genexaaly disseminated
Aornna Cor. &noiropaioco Gbr0saiees.
A Tppler's Explanation.